The extreme cost of heating moisture in construction
What’s the difference between a 3kW heater and a dehumidifier on a six month hire? About £2,395 in electricity consumption – seriously!
It’s for this reason that I wanted to share a blog to talk about the differences between heating and dehumidifying, as we’re finding many are still heating construction spaces unnecessarily.
How does heat affect moisture?
Most notably, heat simply manipulates the air’s ability to retain moisture. So essentially a heater doesn’t reduce moisture content, it just displaces it. That’s not to say there’s no place for them in the drying out of a building. For example in the cooler months, when vapour pressure is low, heaters of course aid with comfort levels. Heat can also be required for the installation of certain products but positive pressure is required for correct ventilation. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the source of the heat – if it contains combustion gases then it is deemed unsafe to recirculate.
Problems also lie where people think it’s ok to vigorously heat space to dry out moisture. This is wrong as it only expands the atmosphere, drawing the moisture from the materials into the air. Once that heat is removed, it will return from the air back into the building’s fabric, therefore exacerbating the issue and wasting loads of energy!